Wednesday, June 10, 2015

The Whispers, Season One, Episode Two: Hide & Seek

Sahara Desert Three months ago

A child plays with a toy stuck and pauses when some sort of meteor shoots across the sky. There seems to be a detonation when it lands. The child then makes his way across the sand with a single torch to guide him and finds some sort of ID patch with the name Sean Bennigan.

In the present, Claire and Henry start their morning routine. Henry tells his mother that he has made a new friend and when Claire leaves to answer the door, the microwave flips on and off while the light bulb flashes. When Claire checks the door, she finds no one standing there. Claire brings up Henry's friend again and says that she cannot wait to meet him.

Having escaped from the hospital, Amnesia guy walks through the park and the parents pull their children out of his path. He heads into a wooded area and reclaims his bag which contains clothing and a shard of whatever the government is investigating in Africa.

Still at home, Claire calls Rollins to request he wait a bit before releasing the sketch. Rollins asks why, pointing out that they are partners. Claire affirms that she is not shutting Rollins out. Claire then asks Rollins to meet her at the hospital to interview the only person they know who has talked to Joe. Claire then calls Wes's house and it's Lena who picks up the phone but she doesn't answer. When Wes wakes, he explains that all the calls he is getting are about what happened in the desert. Claire, who is not completely interested in his reasons, simply moves onto their daughter Minx, who whom Wes needs to discuss his affair with.

In the meantime, Minx has been cahtting with her imaginary friend again and this time she informs her friend that she cannot print what he is requesting because her father has returned home. Minx cuts her conversation short when Wes enters to discuss his lecherous ways. Wes asks to meet Drill and is informed that grown ups cannot see him and only the kids who have been chosen can see him. Wes decides to move on and affirms for Minx that no matter what happens, the three of them will remain a family.

Wes is headed to work but doesn't get far because Claire pulls up in front of him and cuts him off. Claire wants the details of her husband's status change but Wes cannot confirm or deny anything, adding that Sean's plane was found thousands of miles from where it disappeared. There's also evidence that someone walked away from the crash site but no proof that the person in question is Sean. Claire decides to share the sketch with Wes, explaining that the man was seen moments before the bombing. Wes is confused because the sketch looks like Sean. Claire questions why Sean did not come home, if he did indeed survive. Wes reminds Claire that Sean is now a national security threat and that even talking to her is treason. Clearly, every word they say to each other is loaded the history of their affair.

Sean has now made his way to a storage facility. The walls of his locker contain newspaper articles and pictures of the kids who have an imaginary friend.

At the hospital, Dr. Maria Benavidez walks into Amanda's room to check on her and finds Harper. It seems that Harper is not fooled by what her father has been telling her about her mother's condition and is sure that Amanda is going to die. Dr. Maria Benavidez assures Harper that they are doing all they can and that Amanda is fighting. Harper however is adamant that the Dr. Maria Benavidez cannot help her mother and that her imaginary friend informed her that he is the only one who can.

Sean is still at his locker and now he is removing everything he has tacked to the walls.

Claire and Rollins arrive at the hospital and Rollins affirms that the imaginary friend is real and is getting the kids to do things. Talking about the sketch again, Claire agrees that someone might know the subject, adding that this is why they are there. Rollins and Claire question Harper about the sketch but Harper says that she cannot say anything. Harper does not believe that Drill is dangerous and is certain that Drill is going to save her mother's life, again affirms that she is playing the most important game of all. Claire then tries to get Dr. Maria Benavidez to question Harper but Harper seems to hear something and refuses to speak to the doctor. Claire then shows the sketch to Dr. Maria Benavidez, who affirms that the man in question is indeed coma guy.

At the Pentagon, Wes discusses Sean with the Secretary of Defense and learns that Sean disengaged his transponder. There is some suggestion that Sean had help with this and that this explains how he was able to travel so far. Wes is tasked with finding out what happened that night and who Sean is/was working for.

Back at his office, Wes assigns agents to look into what happened in the desert, adding that everyone is to work on the assumption Sean survived. Wes reveals that he has already spoken to Claire about Sean, but orders that Claire and Henry are to be followed.

Minx is playing a game with her friend in her room and it's clear that Drill is helping Minx to win. Minx invites her friend to play a new game and pulls out a drive, asking her friend to print out the file on the drive. Naturally, this does not sound exciting, so Minx tempts her friend by promising that it will result in magic. Minx then gets Drill to offer up a sneak peak of the magical reward for the purposes of enticement but makes her friend promise not to tell anyone.

Still at the hospital, Dr. Maria Benavidez affirms that Sean didn't remember anything past three months ago and never mentioned any friends or family. Dr. Benavidez also reveals that when Sean was unconscious, he spoke in Arabic and said, "they're searching for the light." Dr. Benavidez then says that Sean was in rough shape and had a bunch of tattoos, including one which looked like a treehouse. Rollins and Claire look over the video of Sean escaping from the hospital and based in his actions, Rollins is certain that Sean has military training and suggests they get the sketch out in hopes of getting a hit. When Claire doesn't respond, an angry Rollins demands to know what Claire is hiding from him. Claire finally admits that the person in the sketch could be her husband Sean. Claire goes into detail about Sean's plane being found and how the sketch has a strong resemblance to him. Rollins is not in the least bit impressed that Claire was holding back information from him.

Claire heads to see Dr. Maria Benavidez to ask her to call right away if amnesia guy returns, adding that she shouldn't call the cops.

Sean calls the hospital and discovers that Dr. Maria Benavidez will be on shift until 6pm/

Back at headquarters, Sean examines images from the crash site and learns that it doesn't match the signature of a weapons drop. On the satellite video he also picks up and unidentified moving object. Later, Wes gets a call from an upset Lena.

Wes returns home to find Lena still upset and agents going through his home. Lena says that the officers are there about accessing restricted files. Wes then goes to speak to Alex and learns that the breach was last night at 10pm which shocks Wes, because he wasn't even in the country. Wes then accuses Lena and she gets incredulous. Lena tells Wes that she wasn't spying on him and an argument starts about the affair. Wes again apologises and asks what he can do to make things better and Lena says that she wants all of this to stop, including Minx speaking to an imaginary friend. Lena blames the affair for everything that has gone on. The argument ends when Minx comes between her parents and full tears admits to accessing her father's computer.

Claire calls home to check on Henry on her way out from the hospital and asks that Henry be kept inside. Claire runs into Dr.Benavidez, who cannot find her keys.

Sean enters Dr. Benavidez's house using her stolen keys. Once inside, Sean does a frantic search until he finds the good doctor's gun. Making himself at home, Sean hops into the shower, where he has some sort of attacking, rendering him unconscious.

Wes reports to Alex that Minx accessed the defense files. Alex is not the least bit impressed and clearly there's some nasty history between the two men. Alex views Wes as taking advantage of Claire but Wes tells Alex that he has no idea what happened between him and Claire. Wes then throws Alex out.

Sean has regained consciousness and is frantically drawing on the bathroom tile, as an armed Claire prepares to enter the doctor's house. Wes gets a call and is informed that Claire is about to enter the doctor's home armed and orders the agents to stay away until he gets there. Claire begins her search of the house and she hears Sean jump out the window when he lands on a car, setting off the alarm. Sean takes off running with Claire hot on his heels. Wes pulls up and joins the pursuit from his car. Claire looses Sean for a bit but then sees him standing across the street. The two stare at each other but before Claire can approach Sean, a bus drives by him and he disappears. Wes then pulls up and Claire lies and says that she didn't get a good look at the suspect.

That night at the hospital, Harper tries to talk to her still unconscious mother but naturally gets no response. Harper then speaks to Drill and reminds him of his promise to make her mother better. Amanda's vitals instantly improve and her eyelids begin to flicker. Harper then asks Drill what she is to do next.

Henry is watching television upstairs when his grandmother Willie checks up on him. Willie questions who is in the room with Henry because she heard talking. Henry lies and says that he is alone and Willie sends him off to bed. The moment Willie leaves, the television turns on again but this time it shows nothing but snow. Henry apologises to Drill about not keeping a secret and then moves closer to stare at the television.

Wes gets an update informing him that there are still no hits on Sean and that Claire has returned to the doctor's house.

Minx is walking in the middle of the street in her pyjamas being led by Drill, who she thanks, saying she doesn't want to be at home any longer.

Sean is in a parking garage and he watches as Dr. Benavidez, speaks to a tow truck driver.

Claire continues her search of the doctor's home, where she finds the sketch Sean made on the tile.

Minx has made her way back to the playground and has her looking at building blueprints.

Back in the garage, Dr. Maria Benavidez gets into her car, only to find Sean in the back seat pointing a gun her.

It's still really early in the season to form a true assessment of The Whispers. I don't find it really compelling beyond the idea of children going around killing adults. The big mystery is who and what is Drill and what are the reasons for his actions. I think at the very least in the next episode a clear reason for Drill's objectives needs to be laid out. They've played the imaginary being to the hilt as far as I am concerned already. So far, it's just a mystery without any reason or real path to follow.

There's a lot of interpersonal drama going on. Everything seems to keep coming back to Claire's affair with Wes. The problem is, I really don't give a shit about it. Unfortunately, infidelity rates are high and it's really a pedestrian way to add some cheap drama to the story to fill in the blank space. It also puts both Lena and Claire in a sort of victim status and I really don't like that idea very much.

I am still not seeing a whole lot of diversity. The cast continues to be all straight, and largely White, though I am glad that there's a disabled character. I like that Drill has to communicate differently with Henry than the other children because of his deafness. That being said, though Henry is young, I don't want his character to be nothing more than an avatar for his disability. I hope that he becomes as interesting as the other children. I don't speak ASL but I wondering if anyone who does can inform if the signing on this show is accurate?

So far, The Whispers is blah at best and over dramatic at worst but at two episodes so far, it still has some latitude with me.